Report: Founder of Best Buy may give up on takeover bid

By Staff Writer

New York -- Richard Schulze, founder of Best Buy Co., may abandon a buyout bid and instead line up investors to take a minority position in the electronics retailer, Reuters reported.

Schulze informed the Best Buy board in August that he was interested in partnering with private equity partners to buy the struggling consumer electronics company. But he has been unable to get enough support from banks to finance a deal that would allow him to take it private, the report said.

"We believe the equity raise required for this deal would be a major challenge for Mr. Schulze given the potential size of the deal and the structural challenges facing the company," RBC Capital Markets analyst Scot Ciccarelli said in the Reuters report. "With that in mind, it doesn't come as a surprise to us that Mr. Schulze is considering alternatives to his original plan."